Torn Between Worlds
by Mad Katter
Summary: A servus comes back from Stanton's past, and he might just think twice about his love for Serena. Hits as well as reviews are greatly appreciated. My comeback fic since Angel Lover DotM fic and A Daughter, A Renegade SotD fic .


**A/N: Forgive me if the facts are somewhat wrong since I have not consulted any books since I started writing, and I have not read The Sacrifice, which would have helped me a lot. I have not written a fan fiction in a long time, and I apologize for leaving my stories hanging before. This happens somewhere around book 11, if I recall correctly. **

* * *

_Prologue_

The humming of a sweet lullaby filled the air with a haunting mood. The child slowly closed his eyes, drifting into sleep. The young servus carefully stood up, pulled a blanket over his head, and crept away quietly. She lay on the mattress, exhausted. She tried to keep a clear mind to sleep, but her thoughts haunted her. Involuntarily, her hand reached for the scar on her back, made by a branding iron. She wanted to go home.

When the boy was growing up, she was the closest thing he could have as a mother. She took care of him, raised him with love, though hope has been sapped from him since the day her master brought him in. He was destined to do the bidding of the dark, no matter how hard she tried to give him love. Her master was more often than not away from his home.

One day, the boy, about sixteen years of age now, went missing. She frantically searched for him in every dark alley of Nefandus, but never found him. She felt useless, now that he's gone. _Maybe it's time to get out of here_, she thought.

* * *

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_Chapter One_

Khryseis flashed a smile at the cashier as she paid for her food, taking a number. She found her usual table and waited for her order. She had been a frequent customer at Pink's. When the waiter delivered her brown bag of hotdog with extra cheese and fries, she stood up and got out.

Her escape from Nefandus was all too easy. Even the money she uses to pay for rent came effortlessly. Her master had sent her on frequent trips to buy goods for his voyages, with usually a little too much to spend. She had been saving up the money, until the time came when she would run from Nefandus and find a life of freedom.

Khryseis was taken from her home when she was seventeen. She loved to roam the forests at night, regardless of her father's warnings. One cold night, when the moon was nowhere in sight, a dark cloud loomed over her and so began her long and painful life as a servant of the dark.

Although her master had given her a large amount of money, it wasn't enough to fulfill her needs. She was on her way to a modeling agency, hoping to get hired. Khryseis was attractive in all sorts of ways, her eyes naturally purple, raven hair long and straight. She was thin and muscular, in the feminine sort of way. She got accepted in a snap.

"You start tomorrow. And let your parents sign these." The lady who called herself Miss Penn handed Khryseis contract papers, neatly tucked in a lavender envelope.

"What if they're out of town?" Khryseis lied, hoping she could start without the parental consent.

"Well, too bad, then. It's now or never, sweetie." Miss Penn waved the envelope, emphasizing the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

"I'll have to pass." Khryseis shook her head glumly and walked out of the agency building.

Khryseis walked home, longing to rest. She stopped by an art shop near her apartment building.

"Hey, Kyra." Robb, the shopkeeper, greeted. She used the name Kyra, something simple.

"Need anything? A critic came by earlier. He seemed to enjoy your work."

"Just the usual oil paints." Khryseis felt giddy on the inside. Her hobby became a source of income, and if her paintings get displayed in an art gallery, she wouldn't have to worry about finding a job.

"Here you go." Robb handed Khryseis her change, along with a set of Marie's Oil Colours she purchased.

"Thanks Robb. I'd probably be living on the streets if it weren't for your shop." She had made money out of painting, and he was kind enough to give her a jump start by displaying her art on the shop walls.

Khryseis briskly walked to her loft to sleep in early. She enrolled in La Brea High, and school started tomorrow. After taking a quick shower, she jumped into bed.

* * *

The school halls were crowded by throngs of students clustering into little groups. Their enthusiastic chatter made Khryseis' head spin. She looked this way and that, trying to find her first class. A group of girls headed towards her.

"Hey, you must be new." The girl with the red hair said. They all wore identical moon amulets, glowing even in the dark hallways of La Brea. Khryseis felt irked whenever the light coming from their amulets found her eyes.

"I'm Serena." Serena's pupils widened. Khryseis sensed a throbbing feeling in her head, like her mind suddenly became an open book.

_You can read minds. _Khryseis thought out. She ran. Only Followers and Regulators can read thoughts. How could they have possibly found her?

Serena chased after her, the others on her back.

_I'm not a Follower._ The words slipped into her mind. Still, Khryseis ran. She had no reason to believe anyone.

_Daughters… We're Daughters of the Moon. _Khryseis abruptly stop. She had heard of the Daughters. They were the chosen destined to bring light to Nefandus.

"Wow, you're a fast runner." The one with umber-colored hair wheezed, gasping for air.

"I'm sorry. I thought you were Regulators, so I panicked." Khryseis caught her breath.

"Let's go sit somewhere." Serena led them to the back part of the school grounds. It was deserted.

They all sat in a circle, Serena spoke out first.

"How'd you know I was reading your mind?" She raked through her hair, fixing the gold barrette.

"I've lived in Nefandus for centuries. We develop senses necessary for our survival like reading emotions. Your face was concentrating so much; I knew you were probing my mind."

"By 'we', you mean…?" The girl with blond hair spoke, looking around uncomfortably.

"The servi." Khryseis looked down on the ground, bitter memories seeping inside her.

They all had confusion in their faces, except for one.

"Wait a minute. Before we go any further, I'm Serena. This is Vanessa, Catty, Jimena, and Tianna." She gestured.

"I'm Kyra."

"A friend of mine… he's a servus. The stories he told me about the lives of he and his friends in Nefandus were distressing, to say the least." Catty shook her head as if the stories would go away.

Her friends looked at her, surprised she hadn't told them about it. Serena clicked her tongue ring, waiting for Catty to say something. Vanessa's brows furrowed. The bell rang, and the silence in the circle was broken. Catty rolled her eyes in relief.

"Well let's go then." Vanessa stood up quickly and walked to the building without turning her back.

"Don't mind her. She's just scared of getting demerit slips." Catty followed after her, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

"We'd better get you to your first class. C'mon." Jimena gestured towards Vanessa and Catty.

Khryseis breezed through the day, spending time with the Daughters. She learned about their powers, and their struggle against the Atrox and its Followers. She told them about her own pain, when she was captured and made into a slave. She vowed to help them when the time comes.

* * *

"So you're a shape shifter, huh?" Catty picked up a fry. They were having Saturday dinner at Pink's, two weeks after Khryseis enrolled at La Brea.

"It was the usual way to get around Nefandus. No one ever walks, or uses doors for that mater." Khryseis shook her head in amusement. After all these centuries, she still found it odd.

"So, uh, what do you do in your spare time?" Tianna asked, licking her lips.

"Actually, if we didn't have plans, I'd be painting right now."

"You paint? Cool! I sketch, but I'm totally interested in painting." A big chunk of potato fell from her mouth.

"Gross!" Vanessa playfully slapped Catty on the shoulder. They all just laughed.

All of a sudden, the group went silent. Their amulets shimmered, the light now pulsating. Khryseis shielded her eyes.

"Guys, I have to go." Serena wiped her mouth clean with a napkin, and stood up.

"There could be Followers." Khryseis grasped her arm, not understanding why she had to go right when their amulets glowed in warning.

"It's alright." Jimena said, biting her lip.

Then a chill swept through Khryseis as a haunting melody pierced the air, soft as a breeze.

"He gives me the spooks." Catty rubbed her arms as if that would get rid of the eerie feeling the air brought. Khryseis needn't ask who he was. She knew it was him. _Stanton_.


End file.
